PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has compiled profiles of 1,987 individuals involved in terrorist activities in order to develop a comprehensive database of terrorists and their sympathisers under the recently unveiled Provincial Action Plan against terrorism.
The 84-point action plan was unveiled during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur here on Wednesday.
Minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is available with Dawn, revealed that the participants discussed unrolling of the action plan, coordinated efforts to uproot terrorism, fostering trust between people and state and upgrading police equipment.
The home and tribal affairs department will take the lead in the monitoring and execution of the plan besides serving as a nerve centre for its coordination, according to the minutes.
Initiative comes under Provincial Action Plan against terrorism
Officials informed the forum that under the action plan to dismantle the terrorism ecosystem, 609 people had been put on Schedule IV of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and 1,856 head money cases had been processed. Also, 22 terrorists, whose relatives are in government service have also been identified. The Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre has been established, according to officials.
They said the relevant agencies would continuously work for identifying movable and immovable properties against database entries under the KP Integrated Security Architecture.
Also, the district administrations across the province have shared a format for the monthly district assessment report, comprising “threat picture, freedom of movement for terrorists in the area as well as fair assessment of movement of government officials.” The report will also include proposed kinetic and non-kinetic actions to improve the situation (read the minutes.
According to the documents, there is a Rs30.2 billion plan to purchase equipment and gadgets for the counter-terrorism department, police and Elite Force. Around Rs9 billion has already been released for the purpose.
Also, 2,433 new police posts have been approved for terrorism-hit Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, and Kohat districts, while 1,996 Elite Force personnel for merged tribal districts have also been trained. The finance department has released Rs1 billion for purchasing 10 Mohafiz armoured personnel carriers.
The minutes revealed that 4,000 submachine guns had been acquired, while last month, Rs1.3 billion was released to fortify police stations and posts.
Under the action plan, public liaison committees will be activated to enhance community watch and security at police station level, so instructions have been issued to relevant quarters to form PLCs comprising three-four notable elders, one or two youngsters, and a designated focal person from police. The PLCs will act as the community watchdogs, provide for information sharing between police and citizens, support law-enforcement agencies in emergencies, and help promote counterterrorism messages.
The officials also revealed that smuggled goods worth Rs7.127 billion had been confiscated, while 124,417 non-customs paid vehicles, including 85,185 in the Malakand division, had been profiled. Also,1,045 arms dealers have been surveyed across the province, with 27,000 weapons seized by the police.
In addition, a terminal operating system has been developed at the Kharlachi border crossing in Kurram that has been integrated with the web-based one customs system. The Ghulam Khan terminal is also in place, with its integration with the WeBoc system and cargo scanner to be completed soon, according to the minutes of the meeting.
They also revealed that 12 joint checkposts had been set up across the province to ensure a crackdown on illegal spectrum. Of them, four are in Dera Ismail Khan, one each in South Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Peshawar, Khyber, Chakdara and Nowshera, and two in Kohat.
Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2025
